The Chilmark home rented by President Obama and his family for their summer vacation two years ago went on the market this week with an asking price of $22.5 million.
The home off South Road is owned by David and Patty Schulte, residents of Chicago and Chilmark.
Situated on 9.5 acres, the contemporary-style 7,000-square-foot custom-built home has sweeping views of the south shore across Chilmark Pond and all the amenities typical of an upscale summer house on the Vineyard: guest house, gym, pool, screened porch, basketball court and multiple outdoor showers. The property also comes with private access to a secluded Atlantic-facing beachfront and shared use of a dock on the pond.
Wallace and Co. Sotheby’s International has the exclusive listing, with Tom Wallace as the principal broker.
When the Schultes bought the property in 2000 it had an old camp on it. The camp was torn down and new construction was completed in 2005. Mr. Schulte said this week he and his wife love the house and have decided to sell only because of changing family needs. “When we built the house we had four children in school in New England . . . Today we have four children who are grown, none of them in school, all working . . . . the house gets very little use,” he said. Borrowing from the opening line of the James Taylor song The Secret of Life, he said, “We are enjoying the passage of time.”
The Schultes rented their house to the Obamas in August 2013 for a 10-day vacation. Mr. Schulte has long supported Mr. Obama dating to the President’s days as a senator, but said he and his wife had never rented their house and were initially hesitant when they were approached by Mr. Wallace, the chief rental agent for the Obamas on the Vineyard.
“We harumphed around a little; we had never rented the house,” Mr. Schulte said. “But then I said, well, he is the President for God’s sake, if he would like to use it, fine. I wanted to donate it, but that broke the rules; he had to pay a fair market rent. So that summer we left for two weeks and went to Chicago.”
Part of South Road was closed to through traffic during the visit, causing a small commotion among residents. Mr. Schulte said the road closure came up at the last minute after the property was visited by members of the Secret Service at the highest levels of security. “South Road closing affected a lot of people, that was not supposed to happen,” he said.
He said the road closure played only a small part in their decision to not rent to the Obamas for a second year. “You do it once, it’s patriotism; you do it a second time it’s something different,” Mr. Schulte said. “We were not into something different.”
The property is assessed at $10.6 million. Annual property taxes are estimated at $28,105.
Mr. Schulte said he believes the asking price is fair despite the fact that it is more than twice the assessed value. Lack of comparable sales are a significant factor, he said.
“There have been no sales on this Island of houses like this . . . . some house that have been built. But they haven’t come to market,” he said. “So went around with Tom [Wallace] and looked at prices of properties that are on or might come to market. I think we are very fairly priced within that zone.”
He concluded: “I’m asking so much because I don’t want to give it away.”
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